RecruitingPhase 2

Trial of 5-Fluorouracil (5FU)-Based Therapy in Combination With Fruquintinib in Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Phase II Trial of 5-Fluorouracil (5FU)-Based Therapy in Combination With Fruquintinib as First Line in Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Who can join

As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.

Age
18 Years and older
Sex
All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Not accepted
Compensation
Not stated

Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.

What to expect

No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.

What participation involves

  • Procedures mentioned: Physical exams

Only what the study's summary and detailed description on ClinicalTrials.gov say. Time periods may describe the whole study or a part of it — ask the study team what applies to you.

Show the study's own words
  • "A secondary endpoint will be assessing the safety and tolerability of 5FU-based therapy in combination with fruquintinib, as measured through the incidence and severity of treatment-emergent AEs (NCI CTCAE (v5.0)) and change from baseline in the clinical laboratory and physical examination findings."
Compensation
Not stated
  • Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
  • Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
  • Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
  • Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.

About this study

In plain language

This study tests how safe and effective fruquintinib is when added to chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5FU) as a first treatment. It is for adults with colon or rectal cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body.

This Phase II clinical trial at Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center is evaluating the safety and efficacy of combining 5-Fluorouracil (5FU) -based chemotherapy (either FOLFIRI: folinic acid, 5FU, irinotecan; or mFOLFOX6: folinic acid, 5FU, oxaliplatin) with fruquintinib as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. Fifty patients will receive treatment in 28-day cycles, with fruquintinib initially dosed at 4 mg daily and potentially increased to 5 mg if no significant toxicities are observed. After six months, patients showing stable disease or better will transition to a maintenance phase with 5FU and fruquintinib, continuing until disease progression or other discontinuation criteria are met. The primary endpoint is time to progression based on RECIST v1.1 criteria, while secondary endpoints include safety, tolerability, and duration of response. The trial is being conducted across multiple Houston Methodist hospitals and is currently the only first-line CRC trial available in the system. If successful, it could offer a new therapeutic option and inform future treatment guidelines for advanced colorectal cancer.

Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.

Eligibility

Who can join

  • Be age 18 or older and sign a form agreeing to join the study.
  • Have colon or rectal cancer confirmed by tissue or cell tests that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread.
  • Have cancer that can be measured on scans. Specific gene or tumor markers do not rule you out.
  • Have had no prior cancer treatment that travels through the body, such as chemotherapy. Prior surgery is allowed.
  • Be fully active or able to do light work despite limits on hard physical activity.
  • Have a doctor who expects you to live at least 6 months.
  • If you could become pregnant, agree to use birth control during treatment and for 30 days after the last dose.
  • Be able to swallow tablets.

Who can't join

  • Blood counts that are too low; liver, kidney, blood-clotting, or urine tests outside study limits; or other lab results that could make treatment unsafe.
  • Serious or uncontrolled heart problems, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a heart attack or blood clot in the past 6 months, or a condition that causes bleeding.
  • Ongoing or long-term constipation, a bowel blockage that cannot be treated, or a hard mass of stool in the past 6 months; certain problems digesting or absorbing sugars.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding; inability to consent; or being a prisoner.
  • An infection needing treatment; a known history of or uncontrolled hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV; or recent major surgery.
  • Long-term use of prednisone at 5 mg or more daily, a similar steroid dose, or other drugs that weaken the immune system. Steroid creams and nasal sprays are allowed.
  • Another cancer or treatment for another cancer within 5 years, with exceptions for certain early cancers or cancers the study doctor considers cured.
  • Recent live vaccines or close contact with someone who received one, with a flu-vaccine exception; another study drug within 30 days; or protein- or antibody-based treatment within 3 months for a condition other than colon or rectal cancer.

Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.

Official eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male or female ≥18 years of age. 2. Written informed consent is required before performing any trial-specific tests or procedures. Signing of the informed consent form can occur outside the 28-day screening period. 3. Histopathologically or cytologically confirmed locally advanced unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer. The study will include an all-comer population, meaning that patients will not be excluded based on specific molecular markers such as microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or B-Raf proto-oncogene mutations (BRAF mutations). However, as part of the Standard of Care, comprehensive molecular testing will be performed to assess MSI status, and other relevant biomarkers. For patients with MSI-H or BRAF mutations confirmed, treatment may be adjusted per Standard of Care practices. 4. Measurable disease per RECISTv1.1. 5. No prior systemic treatment. Patients with resected disease who later develop unresectable recurrence without prior systemic therapy remain eligible. 6. ECOG performance status of 0 or 1. 7. Life expectancy ≥6 months per treating physician's assessment. 8. Patients of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception during the study and for 30 days after the last dose of study treatment. 9. Patients must be able to swallow oral tablets. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Hematology laboratory values of: 1. Absolute neutrophil count ≤1500 cells/mm3 2. Platelets ≤100,000 cells/mm3 3. Hemoglobin ≤9 g/dL 4. White blood count ≤3000 cells/mm3. 2. Hepatic laboratory values of aspartate transaminase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT): 1. \>5 × upper limits of normal (ULN) if the documented history of hepatic metastases; or 2. \>2.5 × ULN if no liver metastases are present. 3. Serum albumin \<2.8 g/dL. 4. Total bilirubin \>1.7 mg/dL × ULN. 5. Prothrombin time (PT) or international normalized ratio (INR) \>1.5 × ULN. Note: Patients receiving therapeutic doses of anticoagulant therapy may be considered eligible if PT and INR are within the acceptable institutional therapeutic limits. 6. Serum creatinine or serum urea \>1.5 × ULN. 7. Estimated glomerular filtration rate \<50 mL/min. 8. Urine dipstick or urinalysis with protein ≥2+ or 24-hour urine protein ≥1.0 g/24-h. Subjects with 1+ proteinuria must undergo a 24-hour urine collection to assess urine protein level. 9. Positive pregnancy test, pregnant, or breastfeeding for all women of child-bearing potential. 10. Per treating physician's assessment, any other clinically significant laboratory abnormality that would compromise patient safety or the outcome of the study. 11. Any clinically significant and/or uncontrolled cardiac-related abnormality that would compromise patient safety or the outcome of the study including, but not limited to: 1. Arrhythmia 2. Bradycardia 3. Tachycardia 4. Symptomatic valvular disease 5. Symptomatic congestive heart failure is classified by the New York Heart Association as Class III or IV 6. Unstable angina pectoris. 12. Myocardial infarction within the past 6 months from consent. 13. Active bleeding diathesis. 14. Current complaints of persistent constipation or history of chronic constipation, untreatable bowel obstruction, or fecaloma within the past 6 months from consent. 15. Receiving chronic treatment with corticosteroids ≥5 mg of prednisone per day (or equivalent) or other systemic immunosuppressive agents. Topical or nasal corticosteroids are allowed. 16. Known history and/or uncontrolled hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis C antibody, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 or HIV-2. 17. History of galactose intolerance, deficiency of Lapp lactase, or glucose-galactose malabsorption. 18. History of malignancy or active treatment for malignancy other than CRC (i.e., radiation or chemotherapy, including monoclonal antibodies) within 5 years. Note: Patients with squamous or basal cell carcinomas of the skin, carcinomas in situ of the cervix or uterus, ductal breast cancer in situ, resected low-grade prostate cancer, or other malignancies that in the opinion of the investigator are considered cured may participate. 19. Receipt of live, attenuated vaccine (e.g., intranasal influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella) or close contact with someone who has received a live, attenuated vaccine within the past 1 month from consent. Note: Influenza vaccine will be allowed if administered \>21 days. 20. Receipt of any investigational agent or study treatment within the past 30 days from consent for a condition other than CRC. 21. Receipt of any protein or antibody-based therapeutic agents (e.g., growth hormones or monoclonal antibodies) within the past 3 months from consent for a condition other than CRC. 22. Uncontrolled hypertension 23. Active infection requiring treatment 24. Recent history of major surgery 25. Thromboembolic events during the past 6 months 26. Adults unable to consent 27. Prisoners

Study sites (1)

TX